Site plans for a 149,000-square-foot addition to a Wilmington senior living community have been submitted to the city and will be reviewed by officials next week, according to a Technical Review Committee agenda.
Construction on 130 additional apartments in Cambridge Village of Wilmington, 75 Cavalier Drive, is expected to begin before the end of the year, said Nicole Jones, executive director, on Monday.
"The pace of interest and the occupancy levels that we’re at are exceeding our expectations so we decided to go ahead and start with Phase 2 in December," Jones said.
The first phase of 110 independent living units in the resort-style community, which is only for residents 55 and older, opened in March and is 50 percent occupied and 70 percent leased.
"We should be ready for move-ins [in Phase 2] January of 2017, but we’ll begin taking deposits on apartments during construction," Jones said.
Cambridge Village held an open house for its new Wellness Pavilion in May. In addition to independent living that comes with a myriad of amenities, Cambridge Village also offers a variety of care options to residents, including home care, available in a resident’s apartment and provided by a licensed home care company; enhanced supportive care, a component of Phase 2 in which residents can transfer to select apartments if they need 24-hour care, also provided by a licensed home care agency; and skilled nursing and rehabilitation services in the Wellness Pavilion, provided on-site by The Davis Community. Twenty skilled nursing beds opened at Cambridge Village in June.
“Even active seniors who want to continue to live independently look for communities that offer higher levels of care, should they need it. We wanted to offer these options, so we partnered with the Davis Community, a well-recognized health care provider in Wilmington. Together we will be able to provide a wide range of supportive care services that will allow our residents to enjoy the Cambridge Village lifestyle and also get the healthcare support they may need,” said developer Kendall Oliver, of Raleigh-based Oliver Development, in a news release in April.
Jones said the community currently includes a mix of residents, with locals and those who moved from other states.
"I think it’s a destination," she said. "People are moving here purely out of want and interest in downsizing, having that carefree lifestyle, and then there's that influx of people wanting to move to the Wilmington area because of all of the resources we have and the great weather."
The site plans for Cambridge Village's second phase are expected to be up for first review during the city TRC's meeting at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 22 in the fourth-floor traffic conference room at 305 Chestnut St., according to the most recent agenda. A company called Stewart is listed as design consultant on the plans.
